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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202735">Weightless</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparrowPixie/pseuds/SparrowPixie'>SparrowPixie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sweetest Downfall [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Daevabad Trilogy - S. A. Chakraborty</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Danarhi, Dara and Nahri are traveling together, F/M, NSFW, Post EOG, Shameless Smut, We all wish we were that dancer in EOG, slight EOG spoiler but barely, this could be read as a stand-alone but it is an extension of I Have to Go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:16:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,988</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparrowPixie/pseuds/SparrowPixie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dara and Nahri continue to catch up among the ruins of Persepolis</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Darayavahoush e-Afshin/Nahri e-Nahid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sweetest Downfall [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Weightless</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Some shameless smut incoming</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Tell me the name again,” Nahri said as they continued to peruse the moon-soaked ruins.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara’s tone was knowledgeable. “Persepolis.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri nodded, crossing her arms. She kicked a pebble at one of the crumbling columns. They’d left Cairo a little over a week ago on a carpet Dara enchanted. They’d stopped along the Nile for an evening, visited a small human town where Nahri procured some new boots and now they were on a tour of Dara’s favorite ruins. He’d come across most of them in his travels during the eight years they were apart - some from the twenty years before they met. They made for good camping sites, he had said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s enormous.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is because it was once a very great city,” Dara remarked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri shot him a playful look. “What’d you do to it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara snorted, raising his palms innocently. “This was before my time, Nahri.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was unaware that there was anything ‘before your time’ still in existence.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wound me, Banu Nahida. Is my age showing?” he asked, examining his nails.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri felt a familiar wave of bitterness wash over her. He hadn’t aged a day. He hadn’t changed at all. In the time they’d spent apart she had gained lines on her forehead, she’d plucked out a handful of silver hairs, she was no longer the twenty year old girl he’d fallen in love with. While she was far from an old woman, and she’d live longer than she’d ever anticipated, it was nothing compared to him. He was frozen in time and when she was on her deathbed he’d likely remain the same. But what was worse than feeble insecurities of how his attraction to her may deteriorate as her appearance faded, was the thought of leaving him alone. Of giving him the life he wanted - that he had dreamt of - with her, only to tear it away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I suppose it never will. By the time it does, I’ll long have been gone,” Nahri sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sour tone of her voice must not have escaped his notice, as Dara froze in his steps and gave her a knowing look. She begrudgingly looked at him suddenly feeling very silly. Dara was fourteen hundred years old - he knew that Nahri would come to pass. That she would age and die and he would be without her. He simply did not care. He was happy with any measure of time he could get with her. It did him no good to worry about the inevitable. So why should she?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” she muttered. “I’m being stupid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara lifted Nahri’s chin with his knuckle, smiling softly at her. “Tell me the Banu Nahida is not fretting over her looks?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes, blood heating her cheeks. “It’s more than that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He inclined his head, lips brushing her ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did I tell you, that when we reunited in Cairo, when I saw your face again, the first thing I thought was that my memory hadn’t done you justice?” he said, his hot breath on her neck causing her skin to prickle. “Did I tell you that that evening, when we dined on the rooftop, I marveled at how much more beautiful you had grown during our time apart?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aye, Afshin, give it a rest,” Nahri said, smiling in spite of herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean it, Banu Nahida,” his voice was low. “In all our time apart, I never wanted another as I want you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri chuckled. “Oh? Not a single soul piqued your interest?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara suddenly froze. He stepped away from Nahri, his expression mildly distressed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri’s brows pulled together in concern, her hand coming up to cup his cheek. “What’s the matter?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara chewed his lower lip, eyes downcast as though suddenly realizing something awful. Her heart skipped a beat and a brief wave of panic fell over her that he may have to leave again. No, Dara couldn’t leave her again. He wouldn’t, would be?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dara?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took her hands, frowning, then brought himself to meet her eyes. Nahri inhaled deeply, bracing herself for the blow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nahri, I have not been honest with you,” he said softly. “I did lie with another woman in your absence.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stunned, Nahri blinked at her Afshin. In her absence? Why was he so sorry?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Technically we were not </span>
  <em>
    <span>lying</span>
  </em>
  <span> down but… I did… consummate-“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, stop, </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Nahri said waving an errant hand. “When was this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let go of her remaining hand, his eyes skyward now in despair. “During Manizeh’s occupation. There was a party. I had drank a lot.” Dara turned back to her, shamefaced. “She was a dancer and we left and… Nahri, you must think me so wicked,” he said gravely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words did not match the expression on his face. He had slept with someone almost ten years ago and was this distraught?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nahri, I am so sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the final straw. Nahri laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the ruins. Dara stared down at her, perplexed. It only served to make her laugh harder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dara, you slept with a dancer at a party almost a decade ago when I wasn’t even around!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, and I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said, voice more indignant now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you sorry, Dara? It’s just sex!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara looked aghast for a moment, arching a brow at Nahri. This only served to amuse her further, she tried to quell her laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dara, I had sex with Muntadhir.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nahri, he was your </span>
  <em>
    <span>husband.</span>
  </em>
  <span> This dancer was no one-“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I almost had sex with Ali.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara’s eyes narrowed. Nahri was uncertain if it was in anger or confusion. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dara,” Nahri said soberly. “It’s just sex.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He opened his mouth to protest but she took his hands before he could speak. “Think of it like magic, Dara. Trying to use magic without intent is nothing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do not follow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She inhaled slowly through her nose. “Did you fuck her to spite me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri had to bite back another laugh at his scandalized expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then who cares?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was in love with you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, were you ‘in love’ with the dancer? Is that why you fucked her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crudeness of her phrasing seemed to phase him. He looked as though he may hyperventilate. Sometimes he was truly too archaic for his own good. The Afshin merely shook his head in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why’d you do it then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you… are you really gonna make me say it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She raised a challenging brow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara groaned. “I had sex with her because it felt good! That’s sex!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri smirked as she watched realization spread on his face. This old fashioned man’s eyes had been opened. He looked as though he’d happened upon an epiphany. His third eye opened as his preconceived notions of sex dissolved. She recognized that look - like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. An uncommon occurrence for someone with such dark deeds in their past. Dara’s relief didn’t last long though - the concern quickly returned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you are not angry with me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Nahri said flatly. “Are you mad at me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He appeared as though he was going to return the sentiment and tell her it “mattered not,” but he was suddenly skeptical. “Ali killed me. And you wanted to have sex with him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dara, you’d destroyed my home, Ali is objectively attractive and I thought we were going to die. Not to mention, we hadn’t spoken in</span>
  <em>
    <span> years</span>
  </em>
  <span> really,” Nahri sighed. “Now, are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>mad or were you told that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> be mad by some outdated standard from fourteen hundred years ago?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Afshin contemplated her question. Nahri put her hands on her hips, patiently waiting for him to come to a conclusion. He shook his head, seemingly humiliated. She fought off an amused expression. Oh, her Afshin, always learning. Always growing. He let out a long breath and faced her, a grimace on his handsome features.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps you have a point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded, smirking. “Yes, I do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They continued strolling through the ruins in silence. Nahri could practically hear the wheels turning in Dara’s head. Clearly she had made a point. Clearly she had impacted his view. Clearly he was having difficulty wrapping his head around the concept that most of the time sex was just sex. That was fine. She could help him along.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So how was it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How was what?” Dara muttered, his eyes taking in a crumbling statue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sex. With the dancer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Afshin guffawed. “Surely… surely you do not wish to know the quality of the sex I had with another woman.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri grinned at him. “I surely do. Tell me what I missed out on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled something Nahri couldn’t quite make out. He was endearing when he was this flustered. It took everything she had not to smile wider. Instead she took his hand again, threading their fingers as they continued their walk down a decaying hallway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, as I said, I was drunk,” he muttered. “So the memory is a little foggy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ya, I'll take what I can get, Afshin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara sighed. “Well, it was fairly brief.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a descriptor you want to use.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughed at this. Nahri was pleased she succeeded in lightening the mood. Now if she could just get him to talk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In your experience, Banu Nahida, would you say that on average I am anything less than exceptional?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop changing the subject.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another disgruntled groan, but he continued. “I took her on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tour </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the palace during a party...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure you did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And that’s it. We just… my quarters were too far so we just used a wall.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri felt something squirm deep in her belly. Against a wall? She put herself in this fortunate dancer’s shoes. She and Dara had enjoyed one another’s company many times since reuniting in Cairo. On the carpet, by the fireside, in their tent, on a rooftop, but there was something very desirable about something so simple as a palace wall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How were you?” Nahri asked, trying to keep her voice complacent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He chuckled at this and Nahri again felt a pleasurable sensation stir inside of her. His low, musical laugh was always a sound Nahri took comfort in, but in response to her current question, it elicited a different reaction. A more primal one. Her grip on his hand tightened ever so slightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She did not complain if that’s what you are asking,” he said with a rakish smile. “I’m afraid those are all the details I am able to describe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something uncoiled in her stomach, she took both his hands and dragged him over to one of the cracked walls of the structure, backing herself against it. Dara’s face was shadowed but she could make out the sharp plains of his face. The way the corner of his lip hitched up in delighted surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri guided his hands to her waist. “So </span>
  <em>
    <span>show</span>
  </em>
  <span> me what you did to her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The roguish smile on his face reappeared, eyes dancing with desire. “Are you certain, Banu Nahida?” He took a step towards her, their hips touching. Through the fabric of their clothing she could feel him pushing against her. Hard and ready and eager.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Nahri said breathlessly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara took her hands and guided them around his torso and onto his back, sliding them beneath his tunic. “You’ll want to hold on tightly, Banu Nahida.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri nodded, her fingernails scraping against the scalding heat of his shoulder blades. His eyes didn’t leave hers as he began gathering her skirts, bunching them up to her waist. Without preamble, without warning, Dara hoisted her up as though she were lighter than air, settling her atop his hips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her legs instinctively wrapped around his torso, a slickness in between her thighs embarrassingly early. One of his hands braced the small of her back, the other slid his trousers down just beneath his hips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let out a low, musical chuckle. “I’ve not even touched you yet, Nahri.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should do something about that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He grinned at her, a wicked glint in his eyes. Dara took a sudden step towards the wall, roughly planting Nahri’s back firmly against the crumbling wall. A few loose pebbles dug into her back, the rough stone scratching the exposed skin of her waist and hips. Dara’s free hand slid beneath the gathered ends of her skirts, and his thumb massaged her clit, sending her mind reeling. Her back tensed in anticipation. Her head swam.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without warning, Dara inserted two fingers inside of her and Nahri’s head tilted back against the concrete. She had a hard time believing his hasty session with the dancer involved such attentiveness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She squirmed and her breathing hitched as he inserted a third finger, moving in and out with practiced rhythm. Her fingers buried themselves in his hair, pulling his face to her’s, crushing her lips against his. Dara pulled away, his fingers twisting delightfully inside of her as he gently nipped at her ear, making his way down the base of her neck, his lips scalding on her skin. Her knees shook against him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shifted her hips, hoisting herself higher up on his waist. Dara did not falter, his position as steady as ever. No, instead he bucked his hips settling her more securely against him, as though she were weightless. Like her body was nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara’s fingers pulled out of her and his hands slid up her shirt, thumb skimming her ribs and cupping her breast. His index finger traced a circle around her nipple. He dipped his head, lips brushing the piqued bud, sucking gently. Nahri moaned, her fingers tightening their grip in the silky strands of his hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He brought his head up, teeth brushing her collarbone as he kissed the hollow of her neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She ground her hips against the bulge between his legs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that a hint?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She felt him smile against her skin. Her skin was all pins and needles and a tremor went down her spine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re ready?” Dara pressed, his voice husky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri gasped, grabbing his length and moving her hand up and down, her legs vicelike around his waist. She could feel the muscles of his back ripple and smirked at him, he buried his head in her shoulder swearing under his breath, saying her name like a prayer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>ready?” Nahri countered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughed, his hands moving down and cupping the underside of her thighs. In one swift movement, the Afshin lifted her up like a rag doll, and slid himself into her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A strangled noise erupted from Nahri’s lips, her hands pulled open his jacket, shoving it down his arms as she leaned into him. She whipped off her own shirt next and wrapped arms around Dara’s shoulders, pulling him to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara continued to thrust his hips, each movement pulling him further and further into her. Nahri was weightless in his grasp, utterly powerless. She closed her eyes and imagined they were in the shadowed hallways of the palace, only moonlight illuminating their surroundings. The murmur of a party just yards away. Their privacy at risk, but too embedded in the throws of passion to care.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A wave of pleasure fell over Nahri abruptly, the orgasm that had been building shattering all at once. She cursed, eyes opening as spots dotted her vision. Her thighs quivered around his waist, threatening to go limp. His hands gripped her legs tighter, fastening them around his waist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me you’re not finished already, Banu Nahida?” he grinned devilishly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled him further into her, digging her heels in his back. Dara’s head turned skyward, a ragged breath spilling from him as his chest heaved.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hands moved further up, clutching farther up her thighs and continuing to lift her up and down with a strength that made her feel light as a feather. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The coiling deep in her belly tightened and tightened, she felt her knees buckle again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t let go,” Dara breathed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her throat itched to hurl a barbed comment his way. To call him bossy or arrogant or infuriating. But his hips were jolting and she didn’t want him to stop. The unspooling deep in her stomach muddied her thoughts. Her eyelids fluttered and she let herself become that dancer. Become the woman at a party who caught his eye. Who took her into the hallway, too impatient to even make it back to his quarters and lifted her up against the wall with unbelievable ease.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Nahri hissed as she climaxed again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara’s thrusts slowed, a shiver went through him and his nails dug deeper into the soft skin of thighs. He exhaled an expletive and her back went limp against the wall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lucky dancer,” Nahri breathed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara laughed drowsily, lifting her off of him and placing her back on the ruin’s floor delicately. Her skirts tumbled around her ankles and she gathered her shirt off the ground, pulling it on over her head. Dara shrugged his jacket back on and looked enormously pleased with himself. She felt her cheeks flush.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What reason do you have to be so arrogant, Afshin?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dara gave her a lopsided grin. “Just the knowledge that even my most mediocre performance can send you into a frenzy…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself. “You’re lucky you’re pretty, Darayavahoush. Otherwise you’d be unbearably infuriating.” She wobbled as she tried to regain her footing, the lingering sensation of an orgasm still pulsing through her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He lifted a hand to cup her cheek. She leaned into his palm savoring the warmth that flowed through her, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Dara asked softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nahri grinned. “If that is the treatment a dancer gets then maybe I am in the wrong line of work.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It took every ounce of self control not to call this “you leave me in ruins”</p></blockquote></div></div>
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